


Eyes and Non-Promises

by Diary



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Gabe (Teen Wolf), Alternate Season/Series 06, Awkwardness, Bechdel Test Fail, Bisexual Liam Dunbar, Bisexual Theo Raeken, Episode AU: s06e20 The Wolves of War, Female Character of Color, Holding Hands, Interspecies Friendship, Interspecies Romance, Late Night Conversations, Liam Dunbar & Mason Hewitt Friendship, Love, Male Character of Color, Mental Health Issues, Minor Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt, Morally Ambiguous Character, POV Multiple, Past Liam Dunbar/Hayden Romero, Post-Season/Series 05 AU, Romance, Stiles Stilinski is Something, Unhealthy Relationships, Werecoywolf Theo Raeken
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 05:59:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12184281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: AU. A look at Liam/Theo, Nolan and a surviving Gabe, and a brief Stiles & Lydia scene. Complete.





	Eyes and Non-Promises

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf.

“Look, I’m not dying for you.”

“I’m not dying for you, either,” Liam snaps.

He’s not asking Theo to die, especially not for him, and it’s not something he’d want. As much as they need all the help they can get, part of him would be happy to know Theo is on the road and past Beacon Hills city limits.

Theo’s clear, pale eyes study his, and he hates-

He has this thing about eyes.

When he was little, Mason liked some ninja turtle shirt he was wearing, and Mason’s big, brown eyes alternated between looking at it and into his own. They were so dark they were almost black but so bright and shiny, too, and Liam had decided he’d share his snack, something that came in ninja turtle packaging, and hurt anyone who ever made those eyes cry.  

Hayden had the prettiest brown eyes he’d ever seen, lighter than Mason’s but just as bright, and he could swear they sometimes sparkled. Unfortunately, though, where he’d found a brother in Mason, his feelings were significantly less ‘here’s all my snacks, let’s make a fort, and I will literally bribe you with all my allowance money if you’ll do my homework’ and more of finding himself, for the first time, wanting to kiss like couples did in the movies along with actively wanting other things he’d always felt vaguely queasy towards when confronted with the idea people did them.

He hadn’t handled these new, sharply intense feelings well, and when some punk had pushed him too far and made him look bad right in front of her, Mason hadn’t been around, she’d gotten caught in the crossfire, and to this day, he still wishes she’d done a lot worse to him than she did.

Now, it turns out it’s not just brown eyes that can be beautiful and scary with the feelings they cause.

I could die tonight, floats through his head.

Leaning forward, one hand threads through Theo’s hair, and if part of Liam was hoping this was just the confusing adrenaline, and if another part was hoping Theo would be a bad kisser, both parts are out of luck.

Despite all Theo’s done lately, he doesn’t trust him. He owes him, not a kiss or anything along those lines, but he does owe him. Owing just doesn’t include being dumb enough to trust him.

Trust isn’t that important right now, though. There’s a good chance, one way or another, he might die tonight, and this is a good way to briefly ignore the fear and anger and every other sharpened emotion going through him.

When it breaks, he adds, “But I will fight with you.”

Theo sighs. “Okay.”

He sounded disappointed, and Liam’s tempted to respond, ‘What did you expect? You used me in the worst way possible to literally get me to kill someone. It doesn’t matter it was someone I love, you helped the Dread Doctors, you did nothing when the girl I loved was dying, and then, you used that when you knew my werewolf nature had almost completely taken over to get me to kill.’

“Let’s fight,” Theo says.

The doors open, and they find themselves going at people with guns.

…

“Hey, be still,” Nurse McCall orders. She pushes down on Gabe’s chest. “Mason, sweetheart, don’t you dare touch him until you wash your hands. There’s a sink over there.”

“You need to be still,” she continues. “I’m going to…”

Everything _hurts_ so much.

“Here. Hey, look at me.”

Realising he’s shaking, he finds himself staring at Theo Raeken, and Theo’s hand hurts against his arm.

Then, suddenly, he takes a deep breath, and he’s surprised to realise he can. Everything is still either numb or aching in a way he can’t stop shaking against, but the pain isn’t killing him anymore.

But the bullets in my chest and stomach will, he realises.

“Nolan?”

Nolan comes into eye-view.

Gabe was twelve when he met rabbity Nolan, and he knew even then- “You’ve healed.”

As expected, Nolan gives him an uncomprehending look.

“You need to get it, now,” he insists.

Nolan is touching his own face, and thankfully, realisation is entering his eyes. “You- you beat me unconscious. I was bleeding everywhere. There- there was, on my head earlier. You,” he looks at Nurse McCall, “cleaned it.”

He looks back at Gabe with his wide, buggy eyes. “Gabe? I- I don’t understand.”

If he weren’t concentrating on staying as still as possible, he’d laugh. “I don’t know what in the hell you are. But it was easier to go along with Monroe than try to get you less involved. Best way to protect you. You’re gonna have to protect yourself, now. Promise me.”

“No deathbed promises tonight,” Nurse McCall interjects. “Gabe, it’s time to go into surgery.”

He lets himself laugh.

There’s a feeling of being lifted, above him, lights pass by, and it gets harder and harder to fight sleep.

It’s probably not best to go out hating someone, but he hates Melissa McCall and her son. Nolan’s promise wouldn’t really do jack, he knows. Nolan is a creepy weirdo obsessed with all sorts of different things and has been getting himself into trouble Gabe can’t get him out of since literally the second day they knew each other, but if Nolan promised- He just wanted to hear Nolan promise he’d protect himself. Even if he couldn’t believe it, he’d give anything to have just heard those words, but now, Nolan is gone.

…

After everyone leaves the sheriff’s house, Stiles paces his room. “Nope. That creepy Nolan kid wasn’t on the deadpool! Okay, he wasn’t-”

From his desk, Lydia interrupts, “Stiles.”

“What?”

“Neither were you.”

“Yeah, I’m-”

“You looked at the Anukite and didn’t turn to stone.”

He pauses.

“Stiles, I think you’re something.”

…

When Liam puts a hand on his shoulder, Nolan shoves him onto the floor.

“Alright.” Liam gets back into the chair. “Everyone knows I’m a werewolf, now. I’m not afraid of changing. You do that again, and I still owe you big time for the beating I took.”

“He’ll die.”

“Are whatever you are a type of banshee? He came through the surgery. You could go in, you know.”

Nolan shakes his head. “I’ll be here when he dies.”

“Do you want your friend to die?”

Looking over, Nolan says, “He’s not my friend. I always wondered- My parents never let the counsellors do any tests. Monroe, it was so nice to have one who didn’t even want to. Autistic, psychopath, something, I always knew I’m different from everyone. I just- I just never thought being literally not-human was part of that.”

“Now, though, that’s why. I spent two years wondering when the joke would come. Someone like Gabe actually liking me, really caring about me, it had to be a joke. But it wasn’t. It did have a reason, though, I was right.”

Sighing, Liam leans back in his chair.

“Well, from what I can gather, you only hung out with him because he was your protector. Seems like a fair enough trade to me.”

Jumping, Nolan looks over at where Theo is leaning against the wall. “What? No. No. Gabe- I always told him not to get into fights, to just let the others go after me- And I didn’t want him to shoot up a house. I swear I didn’t. He’s awesome, though. Um, he’d play video games, and he’d get these really high scores. I never could, but just laying there while he did- He likes Hawaiian pizza. And he’s not afraid. What I mean is, he’s strong. Even if he doesn’t think something’s right, if he thinks he needs to do it, he will. I can’t be like that or understand how he is, but he is.”

Taking a shuddery breath, Nolan swipes at his eyes.

“If you care about him, what are you doing sitting out here,” Liam asks. “Whatever his reasons, whether he cares about you or not, you care about him. Right now, isn’t that something you should show? What are you afraid of?”

“He’ll die,” Nolan repeats.

A smile crosses Theo’s face. “That’s it, isn’t it? Monroe’s been gone for weeks, but every day, you’re sitting as far away from the recovery ward as you can while still having it in eyesight. And you’re waiting to die, too. It’s probably not a secret, now, is it, that you’re what she wants dead? Worse, Gabe knew, and he literally killed to keep that secret. You don’t believe either of you is walking out of this hospital alive.”

Nolan hunches farther into himself.

Liam tentatively touches Nolan’s shoulder and doesn’t end up back on the floor.

“I’m not going to waste time trying to convince you that you’re wrong. Gabe wanted you to promise that you’d protect yourself, Nolan. Sitting with your friend, letting yourself believe that you and him are going to somehow be okay, that’s a way of protecting yourself. Sitting and believing you’re both going to die and waiting for it, that’s not.”

“If you really believe you’re both going to die soon, what’s the harm in making him as happy as you can and letting yourself be that way,” Theo adds.

Letting out a strangled sound, Nolan nods. Getting up, he walks over to the recovery ward, and behind him, Liam motions for the deputy to let him pass.

…

Feeling a familiar hand wrap around his, Gabe opens his eyes.

Eight surgeries, he’d been told. Coded once on the table. Physical therapy he’s failing at is necessary if he ever wants to walk again. When he doesn’t have an armed deputy staring at him in the locked physical therapy room, his right hand is chained to the bed. Lawyers, deputies, and social service have all talked to him, but none of them can give him a clear answer on what’s going to happen.

“Lydia Martin’s trying to figure out what I am,” Nolan announces.

Hearing Nolan has been in the company of a banshee isn’t particularly reassuring, but at least, he knows, now, Nolan is still alive and Nolan.

Nurse McCall had told him how close he came to needing a heart transplant.

He’d asked, “Would that have changed the way I feel? About things and people?”

No, probably not, had been the answer.

All the same, with the familiar feelings settling in him as he looks at Nolan, he’s relieved one wasn’t necessary.

Squeezing the hand, he asks, “Any luck?”

“No.”

They sit in silence until Nolan fidgets. “Um, Gabe- be completely honest with me, now.”

“Alright,” he agrees. “Remember how we met?”

“I got my leg stuck in a street drain. You pulled me out.”

“Before I pulled you out, you hit your head. There was blood. I was about to go try to find someone to call 911, and I stopped at a street sign, trying to memorise it. But then, I happened to look back, and it was closing up. The wound. I came back over, and that’s when you opened your eyes. You didn’t even know you’d hit your head.”

“I remember you asking if I did,” Nolan says. “But I didn’t- I hadn’t thought I had.”

“You heal normally when you know you’ve been hurt,” Gabe says. “When you don’t, though-” He shakes his head.

“That’s why, when Aaron was doing the testing, you didn’t let me. I wasn’t afraid. I wanted to, but-”

“Knowing our luck, that’s when you would have started to realise or your healing would change course and just come right away. You’ve always had crap timing, Nolan. Get involved in a war on the side that’s against you.”

“You killed Edgar,” Nolan whispers. “You shot up a house, Gabe.”

“And doing both helped keep you safe for a little longer.”

“You could have just told me. When this all started. Or before. Before would have been good.”

“What would you have done, Nolan, if you’d known you could heal instantaneously from things that would severely hurt other people,” he pointedly inquires.

“Oh,” is the soft response.

“Still probably should have told you,” Gabe grumbles. “In the end, when it came to innocent people or you-”

“I’m sorry.”

He pinches at the hand.

Getting it trapped with both his hands, Nolan continues, “Um, Liam and I are co-captains.”

“Good.”

“You’re not going to leave me, are you, Gabe? If they say you have to go- we’ll figure something out, won’t we?”

“You still haven’t promised to protect yourself.”

“And I won’t,” Nolan defiantly replies.

Rolling his eyes, Gabe squeezes the hands as best he can. “You’ll need to, someday. Until then, though, a few gunshots and the possibility of prison isn’t going to stop me from doing whatever I have to, to protect you.”

…

On his bed, Liam groans when Theo pulls away.

“Is this a bad time to mention I’m leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes!” The words catch up to him. “What? You’re- why?”

Getting up and slipping on a shirt, Theo says, “Sorry, Liam, but now that this town is settling-” He shrugs.

Liam never really expected a double-date with Mason and Corey to happen. There’d been a few double-dates with them when Hayden was still around, but he and Theo aren’t really dating.

So, he’s relieved he hasn’t brought the possibility up and won’t have to. Despite Mason’s attempts to be supportive, he knows Mason will be glad Theo is leaving.

Really, he can’t blame him or try to draw comparisons to how he used to be towards Corey. Corey never did anything outright bad when the Dread Doctors turned him or when he was with Theo and the others, and more importantly, he’s never killed anyone, intentionally or unintentionally. Liam can admit now, a large part of his problem with Corey was the fear and jealousy of losing his best friend.

Theo, though- He’s killed in cold blood, and Liam isn’t sure what it says about him that he’s happy to kiss a person like that.

“You could have told me a little sooner.”

“That mean you’re going to miss me?”

Unfortunately, yes, is the answer.

“Stay the night,” he says instead.

Theo is genuinely surprised by this, he can tell.

Getting up, he walks over and undoes the belt Theo just put on. “Whatever you want. More or just sleep. But yeah, if you’re leaving, some more time with you would be good.”

“Afraid I’ll get into trouble if you let me go?”

“You’re going to get in trouble no matter what, but if I felt like you were a danger to innocent people right now, me and the others would have you locked up. Just because we can’t send you back to your sister, that doesn’t mean you’re uncontainable.”

Laughing, Theo looks at him with sharp, appreciative eyes.

Kissing him, Liam tugs him back to the bed and is relieved when he hears Theo’s shoes coming off.

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes: Part of this fic was me indulging my desire for Liam/Theo. The rest was me being irritated and trying to work through that.
> 
> I liked Theo taking Gabe's pain. I liked nothing else about that scene. I can't believe everyone, Melissa, especially, would just let a still alive teenage gunshot victim crawl around and not do anything. Whatever he'd done, once everything was calm and she realised he was alive, Melissa McCall would have been doing everything she could to minimise the damage.
> 
> As for Nolan, I don't think the show was trying to imply anything about him. It likely was just a failure with continuity/effects, but he wouldn't have looked the way he did given what was shown of Gabe's beating. And I swear, during the above scene, I couldn't even see the wound Melissa cleaned earlier. Maybe it was there and I just didn't see it due to lighting/the actor's positioning or hairstyle/my screen, but since I didn't, it's not here in the fic.
> 
> I've been interested in what exactly Gabe and Nolan's relationship is ever since the whole 'you shot up a house for me' scene, and after the mysteriously healing Nolan, I got the idea: What if Nolan is something, doesn't know it, but Gabe does, and Gabe's just like, 'Great, he's been recruited by people who want to kill him. Well, obviously, I must join them and do everything I can to keep them from finding out they want to.'
> 
> It's canon neither Gabe or Nolan are mentally healthy individuals.
> 
> Stiles, however, I do think this episode was another case of hinting at him being something. He clearly looked at the Anukite whilst throwing the mountain ash, and there was enough time before it hit that he should have turned to stone.


End file.
